Ayyam-i-há inspired gift ideas

Very soon, Bahá'is around the world will be celebrating the "days outside of time". The Bahá'i calendar is made up of 19 months and each month has 19 days. Do the maths - that makes 361 days a year. The Gregorian calendar has 365 days, so the four remaining days are called Intercalary days or AYYAM-i-HA!! yeah!! These are the last four days in February (this year it's February 25th - March 1st) just before we start the 19 day fast (March 2 - 20). It's pretty much a festival of joy, happiness, love, charity, 

and everything sharing-is-caring related.

In Bahá'u'lláh's words, 

"...It behoveth the people of Bahá, throughout these days, to provide good cheer for themselves, their kindred, and beyond them, the poor and needy, and with joy and exultation to hail and glorify their Lord, to sing His praise and magnify His Name..."

Indeed it is a time for giving gifts, and it's important to put thoughts into the kinds of gifts we give away. The quotation above immediately made me think of the arts. There's a lot in the Bahá'i Writings about art - art animates the spirit, art is food for the soul and art can be an expression of worship. With that said, I've always been amazed by the Bahá'i-inspired artists I find on Etsy (an online shop for creative minds!) Some of them have made available their Ayyam-i-há inspired creations, which you can purchase 
by clicking on their names in blue. 

1. Greeting Cards by Elika Mahony 

Each card comes with a gold envelope and is enclosed
in a beautiful gold chiffon gift bag

2. Fridge magnets by Charity Hofert

I've featured Charity Hofert in a previous blog before. She's an amazing artist who focuses on ceramics. She has two pages: A Tiny Seed and chARiTyelise. 

Apart from fridge magnets, she also make ceramic jewellery
and little home decors

3. Children's Coloring Book 

"Celebrating Ayyam-i-ha, Observing the Fast and Celebrating Nawruz around the world" by Delighted Hearts

This book includes 84 coloring pages!
There is another version "Celebrating Ayyam-i-ha around the world"
but it is not a coloring book. It has 28 pages that illustrate to children the
meaning and purpose of the days of Ayyam-i-há
Available here

4. Happy Ayyam-i-ha banners by A Gladsome Heart

This would be a great gift idea to give to families who plan to host an Ayyam-i-há celebration, so they won't need to worry too much about decorating. This simple, elegant banner is just perfect!

Banners available in Gold or Silver. Length: 6.5 - 7 feet.

5. Fabric gift bags by LuckyBugPaperCo

Some ideas of what you can put in the bag when you give them away:

chocolates/sweets; a 175 Bahá'i Era journal/diary (if you community already has one) 

because the New Year is coming up soon; a prayer book...

A set of 5 bags (each bag is 5 x 6 inches) with colorful star shapes

6. Music by Corinne Padilla Mc Loughlin 

This is on 9starmedia - where you can find music by Bahá'i-inspired musicians from around the world. Corinne McLoughlin is a Filipino artist, who released this album last year during the Bicentenary Birth Anniversary of Bahá'u'lláh. It would be a lovely idea to play her CD in the background of your Ayyam-i-há celebrations!

In the video below, the sings Suppliant Bahji

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Link to my Ayyam-i-há blog post from last year